For some time I have been working on an idea to help improve the performance of my PVC flutes. One of the inherent shortcomings of cylindrical bore flutes is that the upper part of the second octave begins to go slightly flat. Veteran players of the flute are able to compensate for this by blowing in the note (blowing harder), but this is hard for beginners to learn to do. I have developed a small wedge that is inserted into the bore of the flute that eliminates this intonation problem in the second octave. This wedge accomplishes the same objective as the parabolic or linear taper in the Boehm headjoint of the modern silver flute. The wedge also makes the flute tone more complex, sounding more like a wooden Irish flute.
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Raoul Fajardo patented a similar idea in 1977, and that patent is now in public domain. The Armstrong Flute Company manufactured a wooden headjoint with a cylindrical bore using the Fajardo wedge, but the product was not a commercial success. Their intent was to make a wooden headjoint for a silver flute, with the resulting tone being like a Baroque flute.
I recently was the lucky ebaywinner of an Fajardo-Armstrong wooden headjoint with a Fajardo wedge/stopper.
Using the patent drawings and adjusting the measurements for a slightly larger bore, I have experimented with wedges from different materials that are identical to the Fajardo wedge. I found that the Fajardo wedge, when used in my PVC flutes, sharpens the second octave notes way too much. Trying to use material shapes that are readily available, I have developed a wedge with a convex-concave cross-sectional area. It is made from another piece of smaller diameter PVC tubing that has nearly the same outside diameter as the inside diameter of my low D flutes. The wedge is very easy to use, in that you simply drop in into the bore of the flute until it rests against the stopper. You can use it as a floating insert, or it can easily be glued in place.
If you decide to glue the wedge in place, here is the method for doing that, which I suggest. First make sure that the tuning cork is in the correct position. The formula is: bore diameter = distance from stopper to center of blow hole. For customers who purchased a flute without the wedge, I sometimes set the stopper closer than this to improve second octave intonation. To use the wedge you will need to readjust the stopper to the abovementioned distance. Now slide the wedge into the bore until it rests with the thicker end against the stopper. It is easier to glue the wedge with the flute body separated from the headjoint. That way it is easy to see the exact position of the wedge prior to gluing. Some players have found that the wedge is best positioned in the flute body with a rotation of about 45-60 degress toward the player. This will get the wedge out-of-the-way from the air-stream. You can use either white glue (semi-permanent bond) or super glue (permanent bond). Put one drop of glue on a non-porous surface, such as glass, ceramic, or your wife's favorite dinner plate. Dip the end of a toothpick into the drop of glue and going through the blowhole place a tiny amount of glue on the wedge/bore interface on both sides of the wedge. With superglue , it only takes a few seconds, and that is it. With Elmer's white glue it will take longer to dry.
There are two other ways that I can think of to secure the wedge in place. One of my customers had good success securing the wedge by using a small strip of double sided tape on the convex side of the wedge. Another way is to use a small piece of sticky putty on the bottom-side of the wedge. The wedge can be secured in place by pressing the wedge to the flute body with a small stick through the blow hole. In both of these methods it is easy to remove the wedge buy using a kitchen knife or small screwdriver to lift up the wedge, should you want to do so. Because of the slight curvature difference between the wedge and the flute bore, I think that the sticky putty is a better method.
Michael Eskin, an Irish flute session player and teacher in San Diego, CA, said this about my three-piece, low D PVC Irish flute with the Tipple-Fajardo wedge: “Awesome. Freakin’ awesome. The wedge in the 3-piece flute was amazing. With the wedge, everyone listening was all in agreement that you have something here that could significantly displace the sub-$500 student flutes. My friend was playing the best large-holed wooden keyles flute I’ve ever owned, and the folks listening said that they had a hard time telling them apart. That’s one hell of a compliment.” I am pleased that Michael has been willing to record a 51 sec. clip (mp3, 803KB) of an Irish tune, "Maids of Mt. Cisco", playing the Tipple 3-piece, white PVC Irish flute with the Tipple-Fajardo wedge in place. This same clip is on my audio files page.
http://dougsflutes.googlepages.com/maids_of_mt_cisco.mp3
After purchasing a Tipple-Fajardo wedge for his 3-piece Tipple flute in white PVC, a musician in Ohio wrote, "I've been playing my flute with your 'magic wedge', and I am extremely pleased with the transition. Immediately I noticed that the notes in the upper octave played tighter and on pitch, but even more impressive was the overall personality change of the flute itself. The wonderful in-your-face volume has been replaced by a sublime sweetness very indicative of a fine, African Blackwood Irish flute that I played awhile back. Yesterday I was playing a great Tipple flute. Today I'm playing a Tipple Stradivarius. This wedge has given my flute real soul."
Having sold many wedges at this point, I want to share some feedback from my customers about the wedge. Some of my customers have found that playing the flute with the wedge is more challenging than playing the flute without the wedge. With the wedge in place the flute takes a little more air to blow and requires a more focused embouchure. Some beginning players have found playing with the wedge a problem. However, I have a number of performing Irish session musicians who love playing with the wedge.
I am selling the Tipple-Fajardo wedge as an accessory to any of my large-bore tunable flutes in E, Eb, D, C, B, and Bb. I think that the F flute plays better without the wedge. The wedge also works well in my one-piece, non-tunable flutes, but the pitch of the flute will be 10-20 cents flat with the wedge in place. This slight flatness in my non-tunable flutes with the wedge will not be noticeable unless you are playing in front of a tuner or are playing with a group, in which case the wedge can be simply removed. The price is $10 + $1 for shipping and handling in the USA (disregard the shipping charge if the wedge is purchased along with a flute). The international shipping expense will be slightly higher, so please inquire.
